Tennessee Gardens

 Abbott Cotten Martin Ravine Garden: University of the South, Texas Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383 (931)598-1000.

"Abbo's Alley", as the students call it, follows a stream through the campus and features a collection of indigenous and cultivated trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.

 Arboretum at Interstate Packaging: Highway 47 North, White Bluff, TN 37187-0789 (615)797-9000.

A fish, greenhouse and over 60 species of trees and shrub make this Arboretum a favorite.  It is also a planting site of the American Chestnut Association.

 Armstrong Lockett House and W. P. Tomes Memorial Gardens: 2728 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 (865)637-3163.

This 1834 house is ornamented by 7 garden terraces from the house to the river.

 Blount Mansion: 200 West Hill Avenue, P.O. Box 1703, Knoxville , TN 37902 (865)525-2375.

The frontier capitol of Tennessee, this historic house offers the lovely Colonial Revival gardens.

 Chattanooga Choo Choo Gardens: 1400 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 Inn:(423)266-5000.

This beautifully restored railroad terminal (now part of a Holiday Inn where you can stay on restored Victorian train cars) has a water garden (with 400 fish), an herb garden (over 50 varieties), an All America Rose Selections rose garden (800 bushes), a daylily collection (184 varieties), .

 Chattanooga Nature Center: 400 Garden Road, Chattanooga, TN 37419 (423)821-1160.

This environmental education center features a scent garden, plus wildlife exhibits, a children's discovery room, a 1,700-foot Wetland Walkway, and a wildlife rehabilitation clinic.

 Chattanooga Zoo: 1101 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404 (423)697-1322.

This 3 1/2 acre zoo offers 150 exotic and native mammals, reptiles and birds, including a new naturalistic spider monkey exhibit.

Cheekwood Botanical Garden: 1200 Forrest Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37205 (615)353-8000.

The 55 acres of beautiful grounds surrounding the art museum are dedicated to a botanical garden. Gardens include the Howe Wildflower Garden, the Herb Study Garden, the Iris Collection (50 Dykes Medal winners), the Harrison Daffodil Garden (200 cultivars), the Virginia Peck Daylily Garden (100 cultivars), Perennial Gardens (pastel cottage garden, dahlia garden, Wills Perennial Garden, Burr Display Garden, and more), the Bridley Orchid Houses (2 greenhouses), and the the Julia Bainbridge Camellia House.

 Christus Gardens: 510 River Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 (865)436-5155.

Taking visitors back to the time of Christ, the "museum" features dramatic Biblical scenes with life-size wax figures, plus historical Biblical artifacts. The grounds offer park-like landscaping and floral displays.

 Cragfont: 200 Cragfont Road, Castalian Springs, TN 37031 (615)452-7070.

General James Winchester, Revolutionary War hero, built his frontier mansion on a rocky bluff in Middle Tennessee. The 1802 mansion displays extensive gardens and a cemetery. Are there dancing ghosts in the gardens?

 Dixon Gallery and Gardens: 4339 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38117 (901)761-2409.

The 17 acres surrounding the gallery feature park-like English landscaping with vistas and formal gardens including a two acre woodland garden, a cutting garden, greenhouses, the Camellia Conservatory and statuary.

 Gardens at Sunshine Hollow: 198 County Road 52 (off I-75 Exit 42), Athens, TN 37303 (423)745-4289, (800)669-2005.

Enjoy extensive gardens set in a 160 acre forested hollow with over 1750 varieties of roses, daylilies, dahlias, hosta, cannas, iris, ferns and other perennials.  3000 linear feet of terraced beds are contoured around the hillsides surrounded by temperate forest areas of mature trees.  Thousands of annuals are displayed in the beds as well as hundreds of hanging baskets, planters and vines.

 Farmhouse Gallery and Gardens: 121 Covered Bridge Lane, Unicoi, TN 37692 (423)743-8799.

The Art Gallery of artist Johnny Lynch displays grounds with extensive perennial and wildflowers gardens.

 Gaylord Opryland Hotel - The Delta and the Cascade Conservatory: 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214-1297 (615)889-1000 or (888)976-1999.

This hotel offers two horticultural phenomena: the Delta, a 4 1/2 acre indoor river and garden, and the Cascade Conservatory, a 4 1/2 acre interior tropical garden.

 The Hermitage, Home of Andrew Jackson: 4580 Rachel's Lane, Hermitage, TN 37076 (615)889-2941.

Home to Andrew Jackson, this elegant 1834 brick home displays a re-created period garden known as Rachel's Garden and designed in 1819 by English gardener William Frost. The central flower beds, in a formal geometric design, are bordered by bricks made at the property's kiln. Among the many varieties of trees, shrubs and groundcovers typical of the era are English boxwood, crepe myrtle, chestnut rose, lilac, honeysuckle, Southern magnolia, weeping willow, crocus, tulip, narcissus, daylily and various herbs.

 James K. Polk Ancestral Home: 301 W. 7th Street, Columbia, TN 38401.

Home of the 11th president, James K. Polk, this house's landscaped grounds feature a formal boxwood garden, a white azalea garden, and a wildflower garden.

 Knoxville Zoological Gardens: 3333 Woodbine Avenue (Off I-40 near Exit 392), Knoxville, TN 37914 (423)637-5331.

This fine zoo, now expanding, includes current exhibits labeled Hamadryas Baboon, Aldabran Tortoise, Reptiles, River Otter, White Rhinocerous, Red Panda, African Penguin, Birds of Central America, Kid's Zoo, African Plains, Red Wolf, Cape Hunting Dog, Pridelands, Gorilla Valley, Cheetah Savannah, and Chimp Ridge.

 Magevney House: 198 Adams Avenue, Memphis , TN 38103 (901)320-6370.

This small 1830s clapboard house showcases mid-1800s life for the middle class and includes an herb garden and a grape arbor.

 Memphis Botanic Garden: 750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38117 (901)576-4100.

Comprising 120 acres of Audubon Park, this splendid botanic garden displays 2,000 species and varieties in 24 formal gardens, including the Japanese Garden of Tranquility, the Little Garden Club Sensory Garden and the TN Bicentennial Iris Garden (5 acres with several hundred varieties), the Dahlia Garden, the Daylily Trial Garden, the Magnolia Garden, the Conifer Garden, the Rose Garden (with 4,000 plants), the Wildflower Garden, the Azalea and Dogwood Trail, the Test Garden, the Daffodil Trail, the Cactus Garden and the Perennial Garden. A 3,000 square foot conservatory displays 500 tropical varieties.

 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere: 3777 Nolensville Road, Nashville, TN (615)833-1534.

This park-like zoo contains naturalistic exhibits for American Black Bear, Grey Wolf, Underwater Viewing, North American Otter, Bald Eagle, Waterfowl, White-Tailed Deer, Przewalski's Horse, Golden Eagle, an Aviary, Pelican Pond, American Bison/Elk, and Cougar plus the Unseen New World Exhibit (75 species of reptiles, amphibians, insects, mammals and birds). Visitors will also view kangaroos, tigers, elephants and zebras. Grassmere Farm offers a reconstruction of an 1800s farm complete with animals.

 Oaklands Historic House Museum: 800 N. Maney Avenue, Murfreesboro, TN 37133 (615)893-0022.

Demonstrating the life of a mid-Victorian planter family, this former plantation with an Italianate style mansion now sits on 10 acres of grounds.

 Oak Ridge Forest and Arboretum, University of Tennessee: 901 S. Illinois Avenue (State Highway 62), Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (865)483-3571.

This 250 acre research and education facility displays 2,500 native and exotic woody plant specimens representing 800 species, varieties, and cultivars. Special collections include Azaleas, Conifers, Crabapples, Dogwoods, Hollies, Junipers, Magnolias, Oaks, Rhododendrons, and Viburnums. Groupings by habitat include Central China, Southern coastal Plains, California Forest, Heath Forest, Polish Forest, and Cumberland Gorge. Four nature trails with trail markers and interpretive signs allow visitors access.

 Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden: 400 Garden Road, Chattanooga, TN 37419 (423)821-9582.

This 300 acre botanical garden, the collaborative work of several landscape architects, features wildflowers, ferns, vines, shrub, and trees that grow naturally in the Southeast Tennessee region. A "riding" is a road winding through a natural landscape.

 Rhododendrons at Roan Mountain State Park: 1015 Highway 143, Roan Mountain , TN 37687 (423)772-0190 or Cabin Reservations: (800)250-8620.

This state park features one of the largest natural Catawba rhododendron gardens in the world.

 Rippavilla Plantation: 5700 Main Street, Spring Hill, TN 37174 (931)486-9037.

A charming story lies behind the building of this lovely plantation home, which includes gardens and a corn maze.

 Sam Davis Home: 1399 Sam Davis Road, Smyrna, TN 37167 (615) 459-2341.

168 acres of farmland surround the upper-middle class home with outbuildings. boyhood home of Sam Davis, a confederate hero and spy.

 Scarritt-Bennett Center: 1008 19th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212 (615)340-7500.

This 10 acre former college site, now a retreat center, is an arboretum campus that can be viewed on a self-guided tour. It also features a demonstration organic garden named "In Defense of Creation".

 Shakespeare Garden: University of the South, Tennessee Avenue (behind Elliott Dormitory), Sewanee, TN 37383 (931)598-1000.

This small garden surrounded by a privet hedge displays herbs and ornamental plants cultivated by Shakespeare or named in his works.

 Trial Gardens: University of Tennessee, Neyland Drive (Next to UT Veterinary Teaching Hospital), Knoxville, TN (865)974-7324.

These trial gardens include lovely landscaped sections as well as display beds.

 University of Tennessee Botanical Gardens: Martin, TN 38238 (901)587-7650.

The campus is a registered botanical garden.

 Warner Park Rose Garden: 1254 E. 3rd Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404 (423)697-9700.

This 56 acre multi-facility public park features rose gardens including an All-America Rose Selections public garden.

 Water Garden: 5212 Austin Road, Chattanooga, TN 37343 (423)870-2838.

A commercial water garden supply center with ornamental ponds and "hundreds of water features".